Broadcom Corporation to Acquire Beceem Communications Inc., a Leader in 4G Wireless

Broadcom Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Beceem Communications Inc., a privately-held company that is a leading provider of fourth generation (4G) wireless platform solutions. Beceem has announced the industry's first 4G multimode platform that can support both LTE and WiMAX 4G networks. Supporting peak broadband download speeds of up to 200Mbps, this technology will enable truly mobile broadband connectivity for smartphones, mobile computing, consumer electronics products and wireless gateways. The acquisition of Beceem accelerates Broadcom's time-to-market in 4G by adding a talented team with proven expertise developing and selling these solutions for a broadening ecosystem of equipment providers and operators. When combined with Broadcom's 3G/2G cellular solutions, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, GPS, Ethernet switching and other associated IP, Beceem's 4G technology will enable our combined customers to accelerate the market availability of highly integrated, lower cost 4G wireless broadband devices.

Service providers around the world are rolling out next generation 4G networks to meet the explosive demand for an expanding variety of content and the growing number of wireless connected devices per subscriber designed to access this content. Beceem's solutions address both LTE and WiMAX, the two standards associated with 4G cellular services. According to the Global Semiconductor Alliance, 132 operators in 56 countries are investing in and are expected to deploy LTE, while WiMAX has already been deployed in over 550 networks in 148 countries. These next generation 4G networks will provide a robust mobile broadband experience at home, at work and while on the road for billions of people around the world.

"The combination of Beceem and Broadcom creates a leader in providing multimode wireless connectivity solutions to service providers and equipment manufacturers around the world," said Scott Bibaud, Broadcom's Executive Vice President & General Manager of the Mobile Platforms Group. "Beceem's talented teams of engineers in India and the U.S. have been focused on enabling a 4G ecosystem of operators and equipment manufacturers to drive the deployment of 4G networks. We look forward to adding their innovative technologies to our product portfolio and providing these technologies to our customers."